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Title: The First Time She DrownedAuthor: Kerry KletterGoodReadsThis book really sank into my gut and stayed with me. I am still thinking about Cassie. It is kind of when you are down, how many times can you get kicked, then run over, then backed up over, and still survive. Who hasn't felt this way? I may or may not have been going through a rough period in my life when I read this. Again truly believe books choose people.Kerry Kletter really kept the hits coming and yet, it didn't make the book morose or pathetic. I would love to talk about this book, but not sure how much to reveal. I will say her mother is an absolutely horrible person. I cannot imagine having to deal with this kind of pain over and over again especially not from my own mother. It is hard enough to say, "No," let alone from blood that is supposed to love you unconditionally.

Description: Cassie O’Malley has
been trying to keep her head above water—literally and
metaphorically—since birth. It’s been two and a half years since
Cassie’s mother dumped her in a mental institution against her will, and
now, at eighteen, Cassie is finally able to reclaim her life and enter
the world on her own terms.

But freedom is a poor match against a
lifetime of psychological damage. As Cassie plumbs the depths of her
new surroundings, the startling truths she uncovers about her own family
narrative make it impossible to cut the tethers of a tumultuous past.
And when the unhealthy mother-daughter relationship that defined
Cassie’s childhood and adolescence threatens to pull her under once
again, Cassie must decide: whose version of history is real? And more
important, whose life must she save?

A bold, literary story about the fragile complexities of mothers and daughters and learning to love oneself, The First Time She Drowned reminds us that we must dive deep into our pasts if we are ever to move forward.

Not many books make me cry, but this one totally did. I absolutely love the information on the disease Maddy has that requires her to be isolated inside her house. This kind of thing fascinates me. It was then agonizing to go through Maddy's experiences seeing a new kid move in, catcher her and do and say all the normal teenager antics that one should experience.

The normalcy of this book mixed with the out there disease is what truly grabbed my heart. The ending just ripped it out.

Truly amazing writing and character development.

Description: My disease is as rare as
it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my
house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever
see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving
truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall,
lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers,
and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me
looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe
we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For
example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost
certainly going to be a disaster.

Author Christina Benjamin brings her award-winning young adult fiction series to Writer’s Atelier, in Winter Park, FL. Her debut novel, The Geneva Project – Truth, has won multiple awards, including the Gold Medal for YA fiction at the 2014 Florida Authors & Publishers Awards. The second book in her series, The Geneva Project – Secrets, has enthralled readers by immersing them deeper in her world of magic, myth and legends, leaving them pining for the next installment of the series. Finally the highly anticipated book 3, The Geneva Project – Lies, will release September 1st, 2015. It picks up right where the cliffhanger of Secrets leaves off.

The Geneva Project series offers fans of mega-hit YA fiction like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson a new series to obsess over. Christina paints a vivid world, where magic and imagination run wild in her epic tale of adventure, courage, friendship and self-discovery. This book series is for ages 10 +, but as with most young adult fiction, its fandom know no limits. Readers of all ages enjoy being immersed in the rich scenery and complex characters.

Don’t miss the launch party and book signing. It is a unique opportunity to have an award-winning author speak about the process of writing her series. Listen to Benjamin read from her newest book, have a chance to ask your burning questions and be the first to have a chance to get a personalized autographed copy. There will be door prizes and light refreshments. Bring a new or gently used children’s book to donate to Christina’s book drive and get a raffle ticket to her special prize drawing. 4:00 pm – Saturday, September, 12th, 2015 at Writer’s Atelier – 336 Grove Ave. Suite B, Winter Park, FL 32789

About the Author:

Benjamin’s love of literature started at an early age. She began to write short stories in grade school and practiced her trade all the way through college where she attended the University of Central Florida to complete her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Technical Writing. After spending some time writing for blogs and websites, she decided to get back to her true love of telling stories. Christina currently resides in St. Augustine, Florida with her husband and her character inspiring pets, where she spends her free time working on her book series and speaking at schools to inspire creativity in young writers. She is also passionate about giving back and has created a One-for-One organization that matches her paperback sales and host book drives to bring reading to school, libraries and literacy groups in need. For more information about Christina Benjamin and The Geneva Project series go to www.thegenevaprojectbook.com or follow onwww.facebook.com/thegenevaprojectbook.

Welcome to my stop on the Cadillac River Blog Tour. Cadillac River is written by Jeff Napolitano and published by California Times Publishing. Here's a bit more about the book!

Emily Miller's parents tied her up. They left her in weeping willows alongside a river that was filled with the dead. But when a young boy takes a ride with his father down a deserted path, he has no choice but to find her. The Millers didn’t know he would soon be a friend, and his father was a person of interest, connected to the mob.
As the secrets children keep follow the unknown, they discover the repercussions of growing up with killers against the molds they weren't meant to be. But like the water that breaks when a child is born, the lessons they learn begin from the start.

Seventeen year-old Regan Vuk has lived her
whole life under the shadow of her future: the pack alpha. She is fast,
smart, and determined. According to her own pack members, she is a
shoo-in. But Regan’s dad has a secret.

Seventeen year-old Charlie spent her
adolescence drifting from place to place with a mother desperate to hide
her illegitimate daughter from the unforgiving reality of pack
dynamics. All Charlie has ever wanted is to know her father--and the
family that's been kept from her all these years. But most of all, she
wants a place to belong in the world. Where she doesn’t have to pretend
she can’t sprout fur and paws at will.

When Charlie finds out the only way to fit
in with her new family is to defeat her long-lost sister for the role
of alpha, she refuses. That is until she learns that the strange and
alluring vampire she's befriended, Owen, is the same vampire prince
that's been promised the winner.

Regan has no doubt that, although she loathes the vampires, it will be her who "wins" Owen.

When
seventeen-year-old Gertie leaves New York to study abroad in Athens,
she learns that vampires and demigods are real and unwittingly becomes a
catalyst to an uprising led by Dionysus, lord of the vampires.

In
this final installment, Gertie, Jeno, and Hector struggle to bring a
peaceful resolution to the war in Athens, but any success they make
comes at great cost. How many more people must die for freedom and
justice? The teens quickly learn that nothing is fair in love and war.
Sometimes even love requires a terrible price.

That’s exactly what
Geneva finds herself doing to protect everyone she loves. While Geneva and her
friends embark on a dangerous mission to fulfill her destiny, the dark forces
that seek her powers are closing in, putting everyone she cares about at
risk. Geneva must lie about who she is,
what she knows and her true feelings. Are all these lies worth it or will she
go too far and lose everything she’s been fighting for?

Young adult author Christina Benjamin grew up in the small
town of La Plume, PA, where atan early age her playful
imagination lent itself to love the art of story telling. She began to writeshort stories in grade school and continued
practicing her craft all the way through college whereshe attended the University of Central Florida to
complete her Bachelor of Arts Degree in TechnicalWriting.

After spending some time writing for blogs and
websites, she was inspired to get back to her truelove of telling stories, and dove head first into The
Geneva Project, her first novel.

Christina now lives in Central Florida with her
husband, dog and cats and spends her freetime
writing the 2nd book of The Geneva Project series.